Never Forget, Never Repeat
by xAbnormalxAlphax
Summary: Poland and Germany have a very serious discussion on their way to a World Meeting in present day. Some tears end up being shed. More things follow, and what they both went through during WWII is revealed. (T for mentions of The Holocaust and rape.) (Will continue.) (Trigger warning: Rape is mentioned, but does not directly happen in the story, as in, it's not one of the scenes.)
1. Stop Apologizing

It was before a World Meeting. In the hallway, Poland and Germany happened to be walking right next to each other with out trying. Germany didn't know what to say because Poland was a very shy man in some ways. Germany also felt immensely guilty, even sixty years after the matter.

Poland was slightly afraid of Germany, and still angry at him. He would never truly forgive him, but he was good at pretending like it never happened. That was the only way he could emotionally survive: to pretend The Holocaust never happened.

Germany was blushing. He finally spoke softly. "I'm sorry."

Poland didn't say anything. What could he say? He just silently begged that Lithuania would hurry up and get there to get him out of the awkward and slightly scary encounter with Germany.

As they walked into the meeting room, they brushed shoulders. Germany immediately apologized immensely. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry…"

Poland sighed, then looked Germany straight in the eyes. He was much shorter than Germany, so it was an odd scene. "Germany. Stop apologizing. What you did in the past…is something that will never be forgotten. Mistakes were made, and…I admit, some pretty terrible and evil things were done but…This is now. We're countries, we forgive and never forget. Stop apologizing. I'm happy to know that you're guilty. That's good, you should be guilty. But please, Germany…don't beat yourself up about it. Remember what happened always, never forget it and don't you dare repeat it. But I…I…I forgive you, so please stop apologizing." Poland didn't truly one hundred percent forgive him, though. But he forgave him more of…seventy five percent. Besides that, everything he said was genuine. Poland took Germany's pale and large hand into both of his small ones, looking into his blue eyes seriously.

Germany stared at Poland. The rest of the countries gathering into the World Meeting and the countries that were previously there just stared at the two of them, shock filling their bodies. Germany spoke silently. "Thank you…for forgiving me. I will never forgive myself." Germany set his other hand on top of Poland's. "I promise that I will never forget what I did. I could never forget. And I swear that I will never repeat anything like it." They both had tears in their eyes. "And I promise that I will never deny what happened in the past. Some countries…some people…they pretend like what I did never happened." Germany spoke the truth. Many people, especially Italians and the Japanese denied the Holocaust. "But I never will deny it. I'm ashamed of what I did, and I know that I can't blame any others for my doing. I will forever teach stories of my past to my people, so that they know never to repeat it. Ignorance is dangerous." He paused, looking at the short man look into his eyes innocently, yet extremely intensely. The green eyes were guilt-inducing, yet somehow comforting. "I will never ever repeat my doings. I will never forget it, either."

Poland looks at him. He hugged Germany tightly, surprising Germany. "Please…just don't beat yourself up about it. You don't deserve that." The both ended up crying and holding each other tightly. Then they took a moment outside to calm themselves down before they went back into the meeting room and then the meeting began. It was surprisingly that the meeting was put on hold.


	2. His Forearm

Germany sat next to Poland at the world meeting. Poland was speaking about global warming or some thing, and his left sleeve gently moved away, revealing his pale and pure virgin-seeming forearm. But Germany knew better than to think that Poland had an untouched left forearm.

Germany felt so guilty. Poland must've been so ashamed of what he had been through that he had used makeup to cover his number even when he wore long sleeves. That poor man.

_The man spoke Polish to us angrily and spat at Prussia. His green eyes were filled with terror and rage. _

_ Prussia growled. "We know you speak German, so speak it, damn it!" His voice was high and shrill._

_ "F-Fine!" The man shouted at Prussia, but I could tell that he was terrified. Most people here were. It was one of the biggest concentration camps in Germany at the time._

_ "Tell us your age." I spoke to the man, trying to sound as scary as I could. _

_ "I'm…I'm seventeen." I knew he was lying, but I wasn't going to say anything about it. He looked well enough to work, and we always needed new workers. And besides, that meant that I could watch more Poles slowly die._

_ "Old enough to work." Prussia growled. "Ludwig, sew his number onto his clothes. I'll do the tattooing. You know how much I love to see the Polacks grimace with pain." He grinned evilly, grabbing the metal stamp. At the time I didn't realize it, but Prussia's eyes were filled with true evil, and I'm sure mine were, too._

_ I nodded, quickly sewing a pink triangle with a small pink rectangle over it and a red triangle with a large black 'P' standing sadly onto his clothing. I had sewed so many triangles and Stars of David. You really got to learn a lot about a person when you were in charge of sewing their badges onto their clothes._

_ Prussia stamped the man's pale forearm with his five-digit number. The man merely grunted as the number '23734' was stamped onto him using metal and ink. I quickly sewed the man's number onto his clothing, shoving the striped clothing to the man. _

_ "Change. Now." _

"Hey…Germany, are you alright?" Poland's voice was a soft whisper, but it still attracted the attention of everyone at The World Meeting, including Germany. A few looked concerned, but most, especially America and Britain, seemed to not really care. Well, America at least seemed curious. Britain didn't at all, he seemed like he just wanted to continue with the meeting.

"Hm?" Germany suddenly found himself trying not to cry in the middle of a meeting. It was so embarrassing.

"L-Let's go outside and get some air, okay, Germany?" Poland's voice was kind and soft and caring. Germany nodded hesitantly, and Poland led him outside.


	3. Why Do I Love Him?

Poland lay on his bed, reading his old journal out loud. He lived alone, and often spoke to himself. It was an odd thing, but he did it so he wouldn't feel so loneliness. He was often pegged with loneliness, and although he was quite shy, he hated to be left alone.

"June 3rd, 1943: Some days I wonder if I'll live through this war. I'm tired of hiding, but I know that if they find me, I'll be a goner. The sharp and angry voices, shouting for Jews and Poles, insulting them viciously haunt me in my sleep and my wake. I don't know if I can live much longer. I don't know if I want to live much longer, either."

Poland sighed. He remembered that he had been writing this while hiding in the forest. He had lived in the forest for a few months before Nazis had found him, and he survived off of berries and rabbits. He rarely slept in fear of Germans finding him.

Tears came to his green eyes, but he continued reading aloud his entries. "October 10th, 1943: I'm getting nervous. I heard guns shooting and shrieking in Hebrew and Polish earlier today. It wasn't far away at all. I knew what was happening; people were taken into the forest, killed, and then pushed into a pit. I need to keep moving, I can't stay in one place or else they'll find me. But which way do I go? All around me I hear Germans. What can I do?" He could barely speak, and his voice was trembling.

Poland was crying now. He tossed the journal to the floor; the bloodstained, dirtied and rumpled journal. That journal had been with him for a while. He was always writing. It was how he survived emotionally, and didn't just give up and kill himself. With a journal, it was like he always had somebody to talk to. Sure, the person couldn't talk back, but he could at least pour his emotions and thoughts into a single journal to be read decades later and cried over. He still kept a journal. Some of his entries were random little things about how his day was or what he bought at the clothing store. Some were more serious however, things about his political views, his emotions, his friendships and his enemies. A large amount of entries were about Germany, both good and bad things. A lot of entries were also about Lithuania.

"Why…Why do I find him cute? Why do I want to take care of him!? Why do I see him, him of all people, as an injured and lost soul!? Why am I so stupid?" Poland buried his face into his hands and sobbed, letting out all the emotion he had kept bottled up since 1939. "Why do I find his blue eyes so innocent? Those…Those are the eyes of evil! That man…That man…committed genocide! He killed my people, so many of my people! And it wasn't just Poles, either! Jews, Poles, gays, lesbians, criminals, feminists, gypsies…So many!" His voice rose in anger with himself for being so stupid as to like Germany, and anger with Germany for killing so many.

"So why does my heart beat for him? Why do I find him so…so dreamy? So handsome, so…so him…He's so sweet, so…so smart and so…Word can't describe him. He's indescribable, that's what he is." Poland paused. "No, he could never like me, though. He's straight. I mean, he hated gay men. So much. He killed gay men. There were so many gay men killed that gays even had their own badge symbol and weren't lumped into the black triangle." Emotions filled him, and he felt overwhelmed, like his chest was about to burst with love, anger, and grief. "But people change, especially countries. He may accept gay people now. But that still doesn't mean that he is gay. There's no way he likes me."

Poland flopped back onto his bed, nearly hitting his head on the headboard but not. "So why do I like him…? Why am I so…so stupid!?" Poland buried his head into his pillow, staining the pillow with eye makeup. His body trembled as he sobbed, unable to control his emotions. He fell asleep, whimpering and staining his pillow a mix of black eyeliner and pink eye shadow.


	4. Did That Just Happen?

For months, the two had gotten closer and closer and it affected both of their minds and resulted in long sleepless nights. They weren't the only ones noticing, however. Prussia had quickly realized that "West" was becoming friends with a "Polack" and he did not approve. Prussia was a bit stuck in his old ways, and some could even call him a Neo-Nazi.

Lithuania had noticed that Poland was getting closer to Germany, and was happy. However, Lithuania always worried and kept a good watch on Germany. Lithuania cared about Poland, although they had an odd past. Lithuania still cared for Poland, although Poland was an ex-husband. The still remained good friends after the divorce.

Poland and Germany sat next to each other at the World Meeting. The other countries had been making sure that they were seated together, as Germany was a very sensitive man and was often comforted by Poland. Also, Hungary and Japan thought that they made the most adorable couple. As Hungary said, "A bad-boy Germany with a feminine, yet not-so-innocent Poland. So cute!" Japan had said basically the same thing, but had phrased it completely differently. "Germany-san is very…well, he has done a lot of bad things in the past as we all have. It's very ironic that the two are together, despite their past conflicts. It's sweet, and it seems like a story out of a cheap cheesy manga that you buy for New Year's."

During the meeting, Germany and Poland simultaneously and subconsciously reached for each other's hands under the table. When they had realized that they were holding hands, Poland's face painted with pink and Germany's face turned bright red. America even commented on it while Japan was speaking.

"I know I say this very often, but I understand that technorogy is constantry growing, and I understand that a rot of us either own, or have the capabirity of making an atom bomb. I wourd rike to remind you that atom bombs are terribre, terribre things. If such terribre things courd happen due to atom bombs in '45, the thought of what we courd do now is terrifying." Japan was very formal while speaking and he brought up logical points.

"Hey, are you two like, doing the classic cheesy thing of holding hands under the table or somethin'? You two are both blushin' and lookin' at each other, and the topic of atom bombs don't typically make most people blush, sooo…." America's accent was obnoxious and his English was off putting, as it didn't sound anything like how England spoke.

"N-Nein…" That was all Germany could say, because he stammered over his words and didn't know how to back his lie up. In fact, he didn't really know how to lie at all. Not like he hadn't lied in the past, as he had hidden his concentration camps very well, but he tried to stay away from lying. Ever since World War II, he's tried to do everything opposite of how he was. In fact, he's one of the most unpatriotic countries out of all of them. There are more American flags in Germany than there are German flags!

"No, we are not." Poland was a very good actor, although Germany kind of gave it away.

"Sure…whatever. Sorry for interruptin' ya, Japan." America turned to Japan.

Japan nodded, and continued his discussion on the danger of atom bombs and modern technology.


	5. You Can Love Without Wanting Sex

"J-Japan…?" Germany's voice was weak and tired. The last time he had heard that voice was…was in that time. Japan immediately shot up from his desk chair, fearing Germany's well-being.

"Germany-san, are you arright?" His voice was panicked and nervous. The last time he had heard that voice, Germany's Fuhrer had done something terrible. Well, Germany's Fuhrer had done a lot of terrible things…But he had done something that directly affected Germany.

"D-Don't vorry, it's nothing that bad. I mean, it's not bad…vell…" Germany looked thoughtful.

"Just terr me what happened, Germany-san." Japan's eyes were concerned and curious.

"Vell…I think I'm in love with Poland." He spat out those last words with extreme quickness. He looked fearfully down at his small friend, in fear of rejection.

"As in…love? Or just attraction?" Japan sat wide-eyed. He knew that the two had a thing for each other, but he never thought it would leave to love. They were enemies! Germany had killed so many Poles. Poland used to be in Auschwitz!

"No…love. I love him." Germany's voice was suddenly slow. He looked close to tears. He was overwhelmed with emotion of love, frustration and fear. Poland used to be his enemy. Surely Poland could never love the enemy, especially one who killed so many people, one that committed genocide, one that was a Nazi!

Japan stood there, not knowing what to say. He had no idea that Germany liked men. It hadn't even crossed his mind. Germany had been so anti-gay in the past, and Germany had such a fear of sexuality in general that he didn't even know if Germany was attracted to any gender. Especially what had happened to Germany, Japan did not suspect that Germany would still like men. Although you can't choose your sexuality, Japan knew that traumatic events could change it, or at least cause it to no longer exist.

"Germany-san…I did not know that you riked men. There is nothing wrong with it of course, severar of the countries rike the same gender, but…" He looked at him. "Germany…" He paused, his voice getting close to a whisper. "Germany-san, I did not know that you were attracted to people. I did not know that you…you were not asexuar. Ever since I found at that those magazines were rearry Prussia's…I did not think you…" Japan struggled to find the right words.

"You can love a person vith out vanting sex from them." Germany's voice was strong and stern like usual. The subject made him uncomfortable.

"Yes, but…subconsciousry, Germany-san, love is based upon sexuararity. Normarry…peoper rike you…Ah, peoper that have gone through what you have…do not rike to get crose to others in a rerationship sort of way." Japan tried his best to explain himself.

Germany nodded softly. "Yes. I normally don't love people in that vay since…since that incident, but something is different. I…I can trust him. He's been through hell and back. Even though he's been through much he…he's so caring and optimistic. He's so…cheerful and outgoing. I love him. I love him so, so much."


	6. Is It The Tattoo?

The two had been dating for a few months. They learned a lot about each learned about Poland's life in Auschwitz as a prisoner, and Poland learned about Germany's life in Auschwitz as an officer. There was a lot that Germany didn't tell Poland, like taking people off to their deaths and shoving people into ovens. There was a lot Poland didn't tell Germany, too, like how Poland once found an apple core on the ground and ate the whole thing, knowing that it would keep him alive for the next few days, or how he once planned to escape but never did.

The two sat on the couch together, both talking and cuddling. Poland loved cuddling with Germany. Germany was so warm and large and muscular, he made a great cuddle-buddy.

"Germany…?" Poland's voice was quiet and innocent-sounding.

"Yes?" Germany kissed Poland's pale forehead tenderly.

"I…I love you." Green eyes looked up at Germany's, looking fearful yet passionate.

"I love you, too. I really, really, do." Germany nodded. The two kissed chastely on the lips. Poland's hand reached out, gently taking Germany's cheek. Poland's other hand slowly began to wander, though. Germany at first thought nothing of it, but their kissing grew more passionate and Poland began to grope and grip at Germany's body, slowly reaching down to that oh-so-sensitive area. Although Germany's body demanded to be touched and felt, his mind wanted nothing of it.

"N-No, Poland...N-No..." Germany's voice was quiet, yet he sounded so scared and nervous. His voice was practically a whimper.

Poland immediately removed his hands. He could feel Germany's arousal pressed against his inner thigh, so he was curious and concerned as to why Germany did not want this. Poland's green eyes searched Germany's, as if asking for a reason not.

"I-I...I'm sorry. I love you and I trust you it's just..." He could barely speak and felt his face burn bright red.

"Is it your body that you don't like to show? Is it the tattoo?" Poland knew that all Nazi officers were given a tattoo under their arm.

"N-No, it's not that it's just..." How could Germany ever explain? What could he say? He suddenly noticed that his blue eyes were tearful. "P-Poland I...I have a fear of...s-sex...because...I vas raped."

Poland's green eyes were filled with extreme concern, yet shock. "Germany...By who? Who would do such a thing to you?" Poland seemed to a demand an answer, like he would murder whoever Germany said did it.

"...H-Hitler..." His voice was shaky just mentioning that name. Germany's eyesight turned watery and tears threatened to fall.

"Germany..." Poland hugged Germany tightly as Germany tried his best not to cry out of embarrassment. Poland realized the irony of all of it. The two had once hated each other and Poland had once feared his life every time he would see Germany. Germany was so strong, so incredibly strong... But now, Poland held him tightly, comforting him. It was a foolish thing to do, to comfort a former-enemy, especially when the enemy was depressed out of guilt for what he had done. "I love you. I'll protect you. Nothing can hurt you as long as I'm here. I love you. I love you so, so much. No matter what's happened in the past, I've forgiven you. You didn't deserve what happened to you. I love you, Germany. I love you."


End file.
